Message from President Magill on House Committee Hearing

December 5, 2023

Dear Members of the Penn Community,

As you may be aware, I will testify today at a hearing before the U.S. House Committee on Education & the Workforce on the topic of “Holding Campus Leaders Accountable and Confronting Antisemitism.” I will be joined by Harvard University President Claudine Gay and Massachusetts Institute of Technology President Sally Kornbluth.

This hearing takes place just two days after the Philadelphia community witnessed in horror the hateful words and actions of protestors who marched through Center City and near Penn’s campus. These protestors directly targeted a Center City business that is Jewish and Israeli owned – a disturbing and shameful act of antisemitism.

Philadelphia Police and Penn Public Safety were present as protestors approached our campus, and thankfully, no one was injured. Campus buildings were vandalized with graffiti, and Penn Police are reviewing footage from the protest to identify those responsible for the vandalism and seek appropriate criminal charges. This event has understandably left many in our community upset and afraid. If you need support, please visit our website for information on Penn resources.

Antisemitism—an old, viral, and pernicious evil—is steadily rising in our society and world events have dramatically accelerated that surge. Few places nationally or globally have proven immune, including Philadelphia and campuses like ours. This is absolutely unacceptable, and we are combatting such hate on our campus with immediate and comprehensive action.

Today’s hearing provides an important opportunity to communicate our urgent work guided by Penn’s Action Plan to Combat Antisemitism. Before I speak about Penn’s approach at today’s hearing, I want to share with you the written testimony I submitted to the Committee in which I describe our immediate and lasting actions to make Penn an even better institution now and for the future.

Penn has the responsibility to lead by example. As I will tell the Committee, we are unyielding in our opposition to antisemitism, Islamophobia, and hate in its many forms. We must stand together to advance our academic mission, which has never been more essential, and to support one another, which is how Penn will move forward and lead.

Sincerely,

Liz Magill

M. Elizabeth Magill
President
Trustees University Professor and Professor of Law
University of Pennsylvania